


Heart of the Matter

by Crescent_Moon (Ad_Astra1977)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23288848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ad_Astra1977/pseuds/Crescent_Moon
Summary: The search for a lost chocobo leads to an interesting discovery, and Noctis does a lot of thinking.  (Also posted to Fanfiction.net)
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Raindrops from the previous night's storm dripped from the trees, glistening in the morning light. The brightness filtered in, waking Noctis. He sat up and saw that his friends had already gotten up. They had gotten to the haven late last night, everyone wet, miserable, and tired. He still felt a bit drowsy, but forced himself out of the tent.

"Good morning, Noct," Ignis said. He was standing at the grill, bacon sizzling away.

"Mornin'" Noctis replied, scratching the back of his head and yawning.

"Care for some breakfast?"

"Sounds good."

Noctis accepted the plate and sat down next to Prompto, who had nearly finished his own meal. Gladio wasn't around; Noctis assumed that he was out for one of his morning training sessions.

"Hey, buddy. Sleep well?" Prompto asked.

"Not too bad, I guess. Could've used a couple more hours," Noctis replied.

"Same here. It'd be great if we could get a hotel tonight," Prompto said.

"We have to report in on the hunt we did, so that should give us some extra gil, right, Ignis?" Noctis asked. He heard footsteps approaching the haven; Gladio had returned. Before Ignis could reply, Noctis's phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket.

"Hello?"

"Good morning. Hope I didn't get you at a bad time," came Wiz's voice from the other end.

"No, it's fine. What's going on?"

"Well, if you wouldn't mind coming down to the Chocobo Post, there's someone here whose chocobo's gone missing, and I was hoping you'd be able to help her out."

In the background Noctis could hear what sounded like someone crying.

"Sure. We'll be over there soon," he replied, then hung up.

"Who was that?" Gladio asked.

"Wiz. He said someone's chocobo went missing, and he wanted to know if we could help," Noctis replied.

"Can't say no when it comes to chocobos," Prompto said.

"Of course not," Ignis added. "As soon as we're packed up, we'll head over there."

There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the weather was warm. Between the temperature and the sound of the tires on the road, it made for a very relaxing ride, and Noctis looked out at the scenery going by. It never failed to amaze him how Eos looked outside the Crown City.

Within the hour, they were at the Chocobo Post. Wiz was standing by one of the tables, a woman sitting next to him.

"Glad to see you," he greeted them. "This is Polly, the one I was telling you about on the phone," he said, gesturing to the woman. She looked up. Her eyes were ringed with red and her cheeks were blotchy. Noctis noticed she had a dog tag around her neck.

"So you must be the hunters that Wiz was telling me about," she said. Despite her appearance, her voice was calm and steady. "If there's any way you can find Rina, it would mean everything to me." She took a deep breath. "Let me start from the beginning. Rina and I were out together exploring when suddenly something must have spooked her. I lost my balance and fell off. I tried to chase after her, but it got dark and well, I was all by myself and I'm afraid I'm no hunter."

"But if you're not a hunter, why do you-?" Prompto motioned towards the dog tag.

"Oh, this belonged to Cari, my daughter. She was a hunter," Polly replied. "Before she was a hunter, we raised Rina together, right from when she hatched. I hope that explains why it's so important that I get her back." She pulled a picture from a pocket in her jeans. In the picture, Polly and a young woman, presumably Cari, stood at either side of a green chocobo. Both of the women were smiling, and the chocobo looked content.

"Where did you lose Rina?" Gladio asked.

"If you have a map, I can show you," Polly said.

Noctis retrieved the map from the Regalia, then spread it out on the table. Polly looked thoughtfully at the map before pointing somewhere between the Myrlwood and the Versperpool. "Somewhere around here."

"Wasn't there a royal tomb around there?" Prompto asked.

"Yeah," Gladio replied.

"Polly, if I may ask. What brought you there to begin with?" Ignis asked.

Polly frowned. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.

"You can tell them," Wiz said encouragingly.

"I heard that there were some interesting plants that would make some amazing food for chocobos." She waved a hand in front of her face. "When I say it like that I'm sure it sounds stupid. It's certainly out of the way, that's for sure. But I always felt safe with Rina."

"I wonder what could've spooked her. Did the treant come back?" Prompto asked.

"I certainly hope not," Ignis said.

"Will you help me?" Polly asked.

"Yeah, we'll find her," Noctis said without a moment of hesitation.

"Thank you so much," Polly said. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Then let's get going," Gladio said. "We've got a long drive ahead of us."


	2. Chapter 2

It would take several hours to get to where they would need to be. Thankfully, the weather continued to hold.

"Man, I'm bored," Prompto grumbled about an hour into their trip.

"You could always take a leaf out of Noct's book and take a nap," Ignis said with a smile.

"We could play the license plate game," Prompto said.

Noctis couldn't help but snort. They were all alone on the road. "King's Knight not working?"

"Phone's updating," Prompto replied with a heavy sigh.

"Might as well catch up on your reading," Gladio said, handing him the book he always had with him.

Prompto looked doubtful as he took it, but started to page through it.

"Is that the book you got from your dad?" Noctis asked Gladio.

"Yeah."

Noctis was familiar with the book, as he had a copy as well. He didn't know if it was still around, as he'd left it back in the Crown City. To him it was a rather dry history of the Kingdom of Lucis, but Gladio insisted that it was fascinating.

"Nah, you can have it back," Prompto said, handing the book back to Gladio, who stowed it away.

"It's a great book if you can't sleep," Noctis said, earning a laugh from Prompto.

"Whatever. Seems I'm the only who's got any taste around here," Gladio said.

"I'd beg to differ on that," Ignis remarked dryly.

"Hey, can we stop here?" Prompto asked. They were coming up on the Alstor Coernix station.

"Yeah, I'm hungry," Noctis said.

"Let's try not to take too long," Ignis said, pulling in next to the Crow's Nest. Everyone got out of the car, stretching and chatting lightly as they headed towards the diner. When Noctis turned to shut his door, he caught a glimpse of Gladio's book again.

The book had been forgotten, but now that Noctis was briefly alone with his thoughts, they went back to Insomnia. The awful day when Ignis told him what had happened there and Cor confirming it. At the time, he was overwhelmed with thoughts of his dad and Luna. But as time pressed on, he wondered what else he would go back to – and not go back to. Who knew when that would be now?

Get to Luna. Save the kingdom. But instead of going straight to Altissia, they were driving around Eos, hunting, running errands, and camping.

When he thought about it one way though, Noctis found that it made a certain sort of sense. Helping people – that's what kings were supposed to do, right? Not that we went around talking about who he was. Only a few people out here knew or cared who he was. People took him and his friends at face value and asked them for help. Help with things like finding a dog tag, taking pictures or delivering food.

He knew that when it was time to take the throne for himself, those things would have to go by the wayside.

"Noct?" Ignis's voice came from the doorway of the diner. Gladio and Prompto were already inside.

"Yeah?"

"Everything alright?"

"Yep. All good," Noctis replied. Ignis didn't push further, and Noctis was grateful. They jointed the other two at the counter.

* * *

Ignis saw that Noctis was staring off into space. Lost in his thoughts, no doubt. He wished that Noctis would share those thoughts. Often the conversation was mostly about the weather, food, the monsters they fought.

But Ignis knew that Noctis had a lot going on in his head. For good reason, of course. Ignis had been his adviser since they were young children so he knew what was to be expected of Noctis. If only his friend would talk more about what he was thinking about. Not because Ignis had answers, but it might help him get his thoughts straight.

But Noct was Noct. And Ignis couldn't change him, nor did he ever want to. He knew his friend would talk when and if he was ready.

* * *

The four ordered their food. Gladio and Ignis chatted with the tipster, while Prompto played King's Knight. Noctis didn't really taste the french fries he was eating. He looked over when Prompto nudged him with his phone.

"Want to play?"

Noctis shook his head. "Nah. Maybe later."

Prompto looked like he was about to say something else, but just shrugged instead.

"I'm going to get some potions," Noctis said. He just couldn't seem to sit still. He walked next door to the shop.

Noctis did a mental calculation of how many elixirs and phoenix downs they could carry and nearly bought out the entire stock. He spotted a cookbook and purchased that as well. He stowed the items in the Regalia and walked back to the diner, sitting on the bench outside. He was hoping his friends were almost done so that they could move on. It was still afternoon, but it was a long way to their destination. Or, at least their destination for now.

He thought back to Polly. She wasn't much different from the others they'd come across in their trip. Just someone trying to do the best they could, whose biggest goal in life was trying to find food for a chocobo and keep the memory of a daughter alive.

Maybe in another life Noctis would have bred chocobos. The thought struck him suddenly and it managed to both amuse and sadden him. A brief image of himself dressed like Wiz, feeding and caring for the big birds. But then the thought faded away. He had only one road, and if he didn't take it, the consequences would be damaging to everyone.

Despite having the three best friends a guy could ask for at his side, Noctis felt a sudden rush of loneliness. The one person who would be able to answer his questions and really and truly understand his fears was gone.

"Ready to go?" Gladio's voice brought him back. Noctis's friends had left the diner and were heading to the Regalia.

"Yeah," Noctis said. He pushed himself off the bench and joined the others.


	3. Chapter 3

The afternoon sun was starting to set as they parked near the haven where they would be staying that night. Noctis pulled out the map; he had made a small mark where Polly had said she'd lost Rina.

They made a brief trip around the area, looking for any clues. "Hey, guys!" Prompto called out, a note of fear in his voice. He was standing over a clump of green feathers, dried blood splattered on them.

"Oh no," Prompto's voice was small.

"If she's hurt, she can't have gone too far," Gladio reasoned.

"Let's keep looking," Noctis said. They continued to look for a while longer, but soon the sun had gone down.

"We should probably head for the haven," Ignis said, his voice heavy with resignation. "Tomorrow we can rent some chocobos and cover more ground."

"Good idea," Gladio said.

They made their way to the haven. Ignis began dinner while the other three set up camp. When Ignis had finished cooking dinner (a hearty stew) they all sat around the fire.

"How do you think Rina's doing out there?" Prompto asked.

"Let's hope for the best," Ignis said, taking a bite of his stew.

Noctis chewed thoughtfully. They had helped other chocobos out before, he didn't want to think about what would happen if they failed this one. Not only would they have to deliver the bad news to Polly, but Wiz, too. Even if it turned out not to be their fault, that Rina was already gone before they had even arrived, he would feel responsible.

What had his father told him? That part of being a king was knowing when to step back, take time to assess a situation before taking action? He knew without a doubt that he and his friends had made the correct decision to break for the night. But it gnawed at him anyway.

He looked around at his friends. The easy conversation they normally enjoyed was filled with awkward starts and stops. It wasn't just him who was worried.

"Well, uh, I guess I'll hit the hay," Prompto said.

"Yeah, me too. We'll get an early start tomorrow," Gladio said.

It was unusual for them to all go to bed at the same time, usually one or two of them joining a little later, but tonight they all got in the tent together.

The next morning arrived with a heavy downpour. "Hopefully Rina won't have gone far in weather like this," Ignis said. They had rented some chocobos near the Vesperpool and were now riding in between the water and the Myrlwood.

No one spoke much, but Noctis felt the mood among him and his friends had lifted slightly, even with the rain. They were looking, and while on the chocobos, they could cover more ground with better vantage points. A bright green chocobo would stick out, too.

As the day wore on, whatever was left of the positive start had gone away. They had started at the far east end of the Vesperpool, near Steyliff Grove and made their way back around towards the Myrlwood.

Anxiousness gave way to irritation as it finally darkened. Noctis could tell again that no one wanted to be the one to say anything that might hint at giving up.

"Kweh!" Noctis's chocobo stopped running and began to bounce up and down.

"You see someth-?"

The sight in front of him had him flying off his chocobo and towards the iron giant that was bearing down on a very injured green chocobo.

He warped to the daemon, getting between it and the chocobo. He vaguely heard his friends jump off their chocobos. He slashed at the monster, not caring that it didn't really make a scratch. At least it wasn't aiming at Rina anymore. He warped around as fast as he could, hoping to catch the monster in the back.

"Noct!" Ignis shouted. "Look out!"

Too late, Noctis looked up and saw the giant's sword coming at him. He was knocked backwards into a boulder, his breath knocked out of him. He heard Prompto's gunshots and saw Gladio swinging his greatsword as the daemon turned towards them.

"Are you alright?" Ignis was running towards Noctis. He put his hand out and Noctis grabbed it, pulling himself up.

"Yeah, I'm good," Noctis replied. He knew he was going to be sore later, but pushed the pain aside for now.

He ran towards the daemon, currently occupied with trying to hit Gladio, who had summoned his shield. The giant's hand connected with it with an ear splitting clang. Finally, with all four of the group back in the fray, the iron giant was defeated.

They ran over to Rina, who had limped a short distance away. They had pulled out an elixir and were about to use it on the chocobo.

"Uh, guys...?" Prompto said.

Noctis saw the menacing red glow coming from behind them and turned around.

"Are you kidding me right now?!" He quickly gave Rina the elixir and jumped up.

He summoned one of the royal arms, not even sure which one he'd equipped earlier. He lunged at the red giant. He swung and dodged, occasionally seeing glimpses of his friends as they fought against the daemon.

It was tougher than the iron giant, and Noctis could feel the effect of the royal arm taking effect. The red giant's sword whistled towards him, and he was having a hard time moving quickly enough.

"Noct!" Prompto shouted, shoving him out of the way, only to take the full brunt of the sword himself, flying several meters away.

Anger flared in Noctis as he used his last bit of strength to take the opening and warp right next to the giant, where he slashed as hard as he could.

Finally, the red giant dissolved into the ground.

Gladio ran over to Noctis. He looked at the bruises on his friend's arms, the result of the royal weapon. It had been a shock the first time Noctis had used them. Power really did come at a price.

"You alright, Noct?" he asked.

"Yeah, just...give me...a moment," Noctis said, his breathing heavy. He started back towards Rina, and Gladio noticed the tiny limp. Noctis was trying to hide it. He wished he could tell Noctis not to use the royal arms, but he couldn't. If the situation were reversed, he would use the royal arms, there was no doubt in his mind.

Noctis, Ignis and Gladio all ran over to Rina. Prompto joined the group a moment later.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

"Looks like the elixir worked, but she's in rough shape," Gladio said. He looked over Prompto. "Kinda like you, it looks like."

"Well, actually-" he began, then shook his head. "Never mind for now."

Noctis saw the strange look on his friend's face, but Ignis pulled him back to the current situation.

"We should call Wiz," Ignis said. "Rina's out of the water for now, but she needs help."

Wiz and Polly would come first thing in the morning; it was the middle of the night and not safe for driving. The four got on their chocobos and surrounded Rina as they slowly made their way back to the haven. Their camp was still set up from the previous night, and Gladio immediately started a fire, while Prompto dug through their bags to find some greens for the chocobos.

Rina curled up next to the fire. Noctis sat down next to her and gently petted her. She looked up at him with big eyes.

"You're safe now," he said softly.


	4. Chapter 4

Noctis had wondered why the royal arms hurt to use. Was it a message of humility from his ancestors? He could use their power, but not for too long. Already the bruises and pain from the weapon were almost gone. His head and back still ached; being thrown into a rock tended to leave some lingering hurt.

His mind traveled to Rina outside the tent. She was curled up next to the rented chocobos, who had taken to her immediately. It wasn't the first chocobo they had rescued and would say good-bye to. Polly would be overjoyed to see her again, and they would part ways, unlikely to see each other again. Onto something else, whatever that might be.

The next morning dawned bright and breezy. The rain had cooled things down overnight. Knowing that Wiz and Polly were coming meant they could have a leisurely morning.

"Hey, Noct," Prompto started.

"What's up?"

"There's something I think we should take a look at once Rina's back with Polly," he said. "I found it when that red giant smacked me with his sword."

"You found something?" Noctis said. "Like what?"

"It looked like a sewer, but I don't think it was. Had some sort of white wall around it, or at least there was," Prompt said, shaking his head. "I don't know, just seems like something could be there."

"Might as well take a look then," Noctis said.

"Good morning!" came Wiz's voice. He and Polly were swiftly making their way towards the haven.

"Rina?" Polly called out. The green chocobo perked up at the sound of her name and saw Polly.

"Kweh!"

Polly broke into a run and Rina stood up, testing her legs. Polly hopped onto the haven and hurried over to her chocobo. She threw her arms around Rina, who closed her eyes and let out a contented sound. After a long moment, she let go and turned to face the rest of the group.

"I can't thank you enough for finding her," she said. Her eyes were shiny with tears. "I don't have much to give you, but here." She pulled a handful of gil from her pocket and jammed it into Noctis's hand.

"Thank y-" he started but before he could finish she pulled him into a bear hug that nearly cut off his breathing. He gave her an awkward pat on the back with one hand. She then repeated the gesture with the other three.

"You boys did well," Wiz said.

"Always happy to help the chocobos~" Prompto said with a big smile.

"We'll be headin' back to the Post now," Wiz said. "Looks like she's been through the ringer."

Polly stroked Rina's head and frowned. "I still don't know what could've spooked her, but thank you again for finding her."

"You're quite welcome," Ignis said. Wiz, Polly, and Rina turned to walk away. Polly turned around one last time, giving them a wave.

"So, where to now?" Ignis asked.

"Prompto found something nearby that we should check out," Noctis replied. "After that, we should move on."

They left the camp as it was, not knowing how long they would be gone for. Prompto led the way in relative silence. The battle and rescue of the previous night had left them drained.

"Here it is," Prompto said.

The dirt and grass gave way to white stones set in a circle on the ground. Surrounding the area were a few standing white stones that looked like they were a building once.

"You think it's part of Steyliff?" Prompto asked.

Ignis frowned and shook his head. "I can't say for sure, but it doesn't look like it."

"Only one way to find out," Noctis said. He walked over to the small circular cover. When he tried to pull it open, it budged minutely.

"Here, let me do it," Gladio said. He yanked on the handle, and with a rusty screech, it opened.

"Geez," Prompto muttered. "When was the last time this thing was opened?"

"I'm going down," Noctis said. It seemed to lead down to nothing but blackness. He gingerly tested the questionable ladder; it seemed sturdy enough. He tried not to think about how deep down he was going. The sunlight was blocked out when Gladio stepped onto the ladder after him.

It took several minutes for all of them to reach the bottom. They were in a circular room, made out of the same white brick as above ground. A single shaft of light lit the way back up. There were three doors that led off into other areas; one ahead of them and to the left and right. The one ahead was closed, while the other two were open.

"Where to first?" Prompto asked.

Noctis chose the door to the left. It led into a small hallway. There wasn't much to be seen, not a single monster or even a rusty coin. The end of the hallway was collapsed, and there was no way to get through.

"Other way it is, then," Noctis said. They made their way to the other open door. At first, it appeared to be the same as the first door. But then Noctis took a step and nearly flew forward.

"Whoa!" Gladio grabbed Noctis and steadied him. The floor had suddenly dropped, and Noctis was standing knee deep in water. Very stagnant water, with debris floating around.

"Gross," Noctis said.

They sloshed their way forward, and it grew darker and darker. Noctis put his hand out to the wall to steady himself, then pulled back suddenly. His finger was bleeding.

"What is it?" Gladio asked.

Noctis turned to face the wall. "Looks like a broken lantern," he said. He took a moment to look at the rest of the wall, and frowned. "Weird," he muttered. "These walls..."

"They look like shelves, don't they?" Prompto said.

"I was thinking the same thing," Ignis replied.

"Let's keep going," Noctis said. Just what was this place? Aside from the broken lantern and some pieces of stone, the shelves were completely empty.

"How long does this go on?" Prompto asked.

They continued on for a while. They came to another dead end, though this one seemed intentional. Noctis reached out and touched the wall. It was damp and covered with fuzzy moss.

"You think this is close to the Vesperpool?" Noctis asked.

"Seems like it might be," Gladio said.

"Guess we should try that door back there," Prompto added. They made their way back to the door. At first Noctis thought it was locked, but when he pulled hard, the door let out an earsplitting screech as it opened. Rusted metal fell to the floor.

They looked inside.


	5. Chapter 5

The room was low and wide, the floor wet and slippery. Rotting tables littered the room. Along the walls, there were shelves.

Shelves covered in books.

"What is this place?" Noctis murmured. One of the tables was still standing, a book still on it. They walked over to it.

Noctis frowned as he looked carefully at the book, his flashlight illuminating the pages. He studied them for several moments, then realized that he could recognize the writing.

"Gladio, this writing looks like the Lucian history book," Noctis said. Gladio looked at the book thoughtfully.

"Not the same dialect," he commented. "But yeah, I think it's probably an older version of modern Eosian."

"Noct, this could be one of the royal archives," Ignis said, referring to the stories of libraries that the ancient rulers of Lucis kept.

"I thought they were all lost," Noctis said. He let out a sigh. "Bet Dad would've loved to see this."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Finally Ignis spoke. "I wonder. We're near the Tomb of the Rogue. Could this be her library?"

"Interesting theory," Gladio said.

Noctis concurred. Of the many rulers of Lucis he had learned about over the years, Crepera Lucis Caelum was one that teachers had tended to skim over. If this belonged to her, a lot of historians were going to have an absolute field day.

When he looked closer at the room, he saw the state it was in. Water dripped from the ceiling. He walked over to one of the shelves and carefully picked up one of the tomes. The cover was somewhat damp. He had to be careful not to rip the pages as he turned them.

Behind him, he heard his friends walk away from the table and look around the room on their own. The book he picked up was small and handwritten. Could the Lucian queen have written this one? He looked at the shelf and saw that there were several other similar looking volumes. The spines gave him his answer.

Yes.

Even with the rudimentary knowledge, he could tell that these were the queen's. "Hey guys," Noctis started. "I think-"

A creaking sound stopped him in his tracks. The dripping of water turned into a gush from the back corner of the room. The creaking turned into a groan, and then part of the room caved in, water rushing in.

"The room's collapsing. Out! Now!" Gladio called out.

The walls had been made of brick, but the ceiling wasn't as strong and a chunk nearly fell on Noctis as he shoved the small book in his pocket and ran for the door. His survival instincts took over as he jumped on the ladder and climbed up.

His friends were right behind him as he pulled himself onto the ground, the sky red, orange and purple. They stood in silence for several moments as Noctis tried to process what happened.

"Why?" he asked.

* * *

Ignis put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Noct," he said quietly. He had several explanations why the room had collapsed, most of which came down to bad timing and even worse luck. But he knew that the question wasn't really about that.

* * *

Prompto looked at his friend's slumped shoulders. He couldn't come up with anything to say. Even if he could, he doubted it would be helpful. If it was like Ignis had said and it was a royal archive, Noct had found and then lost a part of his past. And the past definitely wasn't something Prompto could really talk about.

At least, not now.

* * *

Gladio was relieved that they all had gotten out. But he knew the value of what was lost down there, and it was a true disappointment. "Guys," he said quietly but firmly. It had to be him who took charge right now. "Let's get to the haven. It's almost dark." They could deal with the loss in a safe place, at least.

* * *

Noctis pulled the small book out of his pocket as he waited for dinner. Ignis hadn't said what he was going to make, but whatever it was, it smelled amazing. Despite how down he was, he couldn't help but feel warmth for his adviser. At least they weren't going to eat badly tonight.

Prompto sat down next to him, phone in hand. He looked about ready to start playing King's Knight when he did a double take at the book in Noctis's hand.

"Is that from the archive?" he asked.

"Yeah. The only thing I could save," Noctis said flatly. He didn't look up, trying to read the characters on the page. But despite being able to pick out words, he couldn't read it. He knew it was partially because he couldn't really pay close attention to anything right about now.

"Dinner's ready," Ignis said. He handed Noctis a bowl of stew. After the wet and cold of the archive, it hit the spot. After he finished his meal, all he wanted to do was to get in the tent and fall asleep. But there was something that he needed to do first.

"Hey, Gladio," Noctis asked.

Gladio looked over from where he was sitting. "Hmm?"

Noctis pulled the book out of his pocket. "Do you know anyone who could read this?" He handed the book over to Gladio, who looked at the cover.

"You know, there might be someone. I think he's over at Meldacio HQ, helping out the hunters. Former Crownsguard," he replied.

"Former?" Noctis asked.

"He got hurt pretty bad and had to retire," Gladio explained.

"Are you talking about Kyle?" Ignis asked.

"Yeah, he's the one," Gladio replied.

"His loyalty to the Crown is second to none. Though I wasn't aware that he could read old Lucian writing," Ignis mused.

"Maybe-," Noctis hesitated. "Maybe he could try? It'd be nice to know what it says. We could stop by tomorrow."

"You'd be okay leaving it with him?" Prompto asked.

Noctis shrugged. "It's not doing me a lot of good if I can't understand what it says," he said.

"Yeah, guess you're right," Prompto replied.

The sky had darkened by then. Prompto had gone to bed, Gladio was working out, and Ignis was finishing the dishes. Noctis sat next to the fire, staring up at the stars. Even if he did find out what Crepera's book said, it was still only going to be just a small part of her life. Aside from the notebook he shared with Luna, he hadn't really kept any journals. He'd been too busy doing other things, helping people, getting stronger. And once they reached Altissia, he'd probably have even less time.

A thought struck him. Had his father kept any journals? Just as quickly, he quashed the thought. If there were any, they'd be in Insomnia. And there would be far more important things to do besides trying to search them out.

Beside him, Prompto yawned. "Alright, I'm going to bed," he said.

"Night," Noct replied.

Eventually, they all made their way into the tent, where Noctis, despite all of his ruminations, fell asleep.

They made their way to the Meldacio HQ the following morning. Gladio and Ignis led the way, as Noctis wasn't sure who Kyle was. He turned out to be a man in his late 30s, with shaggy blond hair and kind blue eyes.

"It's an honor to meet you, your majesty," he said. "So, what brings you here?"

"I hear you're interested in Lucian history," Noctis said. "Is it true you can read some of the older texts?"

"Some of them, yes," Kyle replied.

Noctis held out Crepera's book. "You think you could read this?"

Kyle took the book and opened it up. His curious expression turned into a frown. "What is this?"

"We think it's something from a Crepera Lucis Caelum's royal archive," Noctis explained.

Kyle's mouth dropped for an instant, but he quickly closed it. "If that's true, then this is the find of a lifetime," he said. "And it would take me some time, but I probably could read it."

"Take all the time you need," Noctis said. "I won't need it for awhile."

Kyle's eyes widened. "I'll be sure to keep it safe, you have my word."

"Thanks," Noctis said with a smile. "Anyway, we're off." He turned with a wave and joined his friends in the Regalia.


	6. Epilogue

_10 years later..._

It was early evening, and in the Crown City, work was wrapping up for the day. Ignis brushed an arm across his forehead. He heard footsteps coming toward him.

"Ignis, sir, a minute?" It was Talcott's voice.

"Of course, what is it?" he asked.

"Someone's here to see you," Talcott said. There was another set of footsteps.

"Hello. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Kyle," a man's voice said.

Ignis frowned, but then nodded. "Yes, yes, I do remember you. You were at Meldacio hunter HQ."

"That's right. Anyway, the book that his majesty dropped off all those years ago; I finished translating it." He let out a sigh. "I wish I could have given it back to him sooner. But I know there were more important things going on."

"Well, you've done a service to the kingdom in any case," Ignis said, smiling. "And besides, he did tell you to take your time, right?"

"Yeah, that's true," Kyle said with a chuckle. "I'd like to give the book and the translation to you, if that's alright. Here you are."

Ignis took the books from him. "Thank you, Kyle." He felt the texture of both the books. One was worn leather, the other a spiral bound notebook. "It means a lot to me. To us."

"I'm just glad I could help out. Well, I'm off," Kyle said, and walked away. A few moments later, Gladio and Prompto walked over.

"We're finished for the day," Prompto said. "How about you?"

"What do you have there?" Gladio asked.

"Do you remember that archive we found all those years ago?" Ignis asked.

"Oh yeah, that one," Prompto mumbled.

"This is the book that Noctis gave to Kyle to read, along with his translation," Ignis said.

"What book?" Talcott asked.

"We think it's a journal of Crepera Lucis Caelum," Gladio replied. "It was the only book we could save out of the archive. The place collapsed and flooded."

"Oh. That's a shame," Talcott said sadly.

There was a moment of quiet.

"Say, um, did Noctis ever keep a journal?" Talcott asked.

"He and Luna shared a notebook, but I'm afraid that too, has been lost," Ignis replied.

"I see. Then maybe you guys should write something for Noctis," Talcott said.

Gladio and Prompto looked surprised, but Ignis smiled and shook his head.

"I thought about it, but no. At least, not for a very long time," Ignis said. He thought back to Dave, Sania, Wiz, Holly, Takka, Cid and Cindy, Vyv, Polly, and so many others that they'd assisted years ago. And of course, all the people that were around today because of Noctis's sacrifice.

"Noctis was always helping people, and I firmly believe that he'd rather us do that for as long as we can," Ignis said.

Above them, the sky was beginning to darken. But they didn't feel any fear of it staying that way. Noctis had entrusted them with the future, and together they would all make it a good one.


End file.
